The glossy New York offices of Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group, are a long way from Monte and Avery Lipman's first place of operation. "If you saw my early office, it looked like a boiler room," Monte laughs, as he stands in his office on Broadway near Columbus Circle. "We had this giant rat that used to run around. We were on 45th Street and Times Square, and it became sort of a weird pet thing." Now Monte, the chairman and CEO, his brother, Avery, the president and COO, and Charlie Walk, who joined the Lipmans in 2013 and is the president of the Republic Group, each claim a uniquely decorated office on the eighth floor of the building, all three spaces possessing only two shared qualities: enviable lengths of glass windows and countless pieces of memorabilia from the men's impressive careers working with award-winning multiplatinum musicians.

"The one thing I say to any artist who walks in here is if you want to be the biggest act in the world, you've come to the right place because that's the way we go after it," says Monte. "Whether it's a strategic alliance with [Big Machine's] Taylor Swift, someone like [Cash Money's] Drake, what's happening with the Weeknd right now, and the list goes on and on, we think about that year-round. Who’s the next crop of artists, what the expectations are."

But according to all three men, as much time is spent out of their offices as in them, working on the collective careers of the talent.

"We say you get more done in the hallway than you do sitting in a room full of people," says Avery, who adds that the main structure of their business isn't about back-to-back meetings. "The core of our business it to find artists, sign them, and break them.”

"Every day is different, 365 days a year," says Walk. "Because it's such a fast-moving business. Something that could be the biggest thing tomorrow could happen tonight. A lot of things I've done and actually signed didn't happen here but because I was at the right place at the right time. [The office] allows you to collect your thoughts, but going out allows you to execute those thoughts."

From left: Avery Lipman, Monte Lipman, and Charlie Walk.

Walk's office, the most modern of the three, is also infused with the most personality. Decked out with awards, personal photos, and artwork, the space includes things like a Billboard Music Award for Top Artist given to him by Taylor Swift, a photo of Walk introducing Hailee Steinfeld to the Weeknd, and a personalized piece of art given to him by Peter Tunney ("my Tunney money"). “For me, it was really important that the walls were wooden so it gave it kind of an organic feel and an office look. To me the wood slabs felt barnlike; it made the space feel creative, and I mixed with more modern, minimalistic furniture,” says Walk of his office. “I added this carpet to give it a living room feel." A strategic move on Walk's part: "If you come here and you're an artist or in the creative entertainment space, it shifts your mind-set from corporate. I always say, 'From a corporate to an entrepreneurial vibe.' It feels open and clean and modern, yet that wood brings a feel of organic to it."

Avery Lipman's office, in comparison to the brightness of Walk's, is a gale of masculinity, with its heavy wood furniture and dark wall hangings. "I actually inherited this space, so when I came in here, I didn't have a whole lot to do," he says. Still, the room has his personal touch throughout, including a handmade vegetable-dyed rug, a painting made for him by singer John Mellencamp, and a plaque from his first job as Clive Davis's assistant at Arista Records. A bejeweled Moroccan wedding blanket hangs above one wall, the table beneath it displaying a plaque announcing Amy Winehouse's five Grammy wins.

Avery's brother, Monte, has the corner office of the floor, a sizable space with a couch so large it looks like it could (almost) fit every one of the label's past Grammy winners.

"I always say in this business, ‘No detail is too small,' and that certainly applies to the office as well. So everything you see has been curated, so everything has been thought about: What does it represent, what does it say, what kind of impact would it have on somebody walking into the office for the first time?" he says.

With the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on the horizon, Republic Records will be a large presence over the course of the awards weekend. "For me personally, I'm very excited about the Lorde Music Listening Session, playing some music to the community in a studio on Friday, which will be fantastic, and then Friday night we have a new artist showcase, Class of 2017, at a place called No Name that we'll have the industry come out to—only 125 handpicked people," Walk says. And Republic Records' own after-party for the Grammys will be a highlight. "It's the one you go to where you take your tie off and enjoy yourselves," Walk says. While Avery gamely points out the show is always exciting, Monte says they definitely have some artists of their own they'll be rooting for specifically: "This year it's Drake, just because he's nominated for six [awards], including Album of the Year, plus the Weeknd is going to perform. Ariana Grande is up for two awards; the Avett Brothers are up for two awards. And plus, we have the most kick-ass party every year!"

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